try begging
"I think I should call the nanny first. I need to tell her I'm going to be late..."
"Oh, right."
"Then, would you like to go wash up first?"
"Ah... I see."
Norman, realizing that he had rushed in without washing up, scratched the back of his head and headed to the bathroom. As the bathroom door closed and the sound of water began to be heard, Grace unwrapped the gun holster from her stocking band and put it in her handbag that had fallen to the floor.
"Phew... ."
A sigh echoed through the small hotel room. Grace, sitting on the edge of the bed, looked down at her blouse, which had a couple of buttons undone, and raised her hand. But she couldn't fasten it or unfasten it any further, and lowered her hand, sighing again.
I don't like it.
It felt like I was doing something bad, but it wasn't a bad thing that made my heart flutter.
But for that man, there is a good revenge... .
No. Why should I sleep with another man to get revenge on that man? I sleep because I want to sleep.
Looking at how much my sexual desire has been boiling over lately, it seemed like I really wanted to sleep with a man. Norman was tall, attractive, and had a fit body. He wasn't a bad person to spend a night with.
But I don't feel like it.
If you close your eyes and try it once, it might be okay. That's because he's the only man I've ever seen.
Grace tried to convince herself that, sitting on the bed bathed in the red neon light outside the window. Outside, she could faintly hear jazz playing and the occasional car horn. In contrast to the flashy and noisy streets, in the dark hotel room, the only sounds were the shower and Grace's breathing.
The moment she smelled the faint scent of cigarette smoke again, Grace looked up in surprise. The man was leaning against a corner where the light couldn't reach.
Yeah, just sit there and watch me panting with another guy.
But the man said nothing.
The expression of the man standing in the thick darkness was not visible. Only the light of the cigar in the man's hand was visible. The end of the cigar occasionally flared red and a wisp of white smoke rose. Then it faded to black and flared red again.
In the midst of the nervously blinking neon lights, Grace held her breath and did not move an inch. Even the occasional swallow was careful.
Eventually, unable to bear the uncomfortable silence, Grace pushed herself up onto the bed, the heels of her high heels stamping on the carpet as the neon sign went out.
At that moment, my ankle was suddenly grabbed. The man who approached the bed without any sign of movement and grabbed my ankle moved the cigar in his mouth to his other hand without showing any sign of being shaken, exhaled a long stream of smoke, and broke the silence.
"Grace."
The neon sign that had been turned off came back on. The moment I met the abandoned boy's pale blue eyes, my breath stopped.
Bang!
Suddenly, I came to my senses when a horn blared loudly outside the window.
go away.
Grace buried her face in her hands and cried out silently.
Get out of my hotel room, Leon Winston.
The place that man occupied was actually her head.
"Anna?"
Grace snapped her head up at the sound of her name being called. Norman, who had appeared out of nowhere, was standing in front of her in a bathrobe.
"What's going on?"
Grace took a deep breath as she looked up at the worried face.
"Norman... ."
º º º
"At this time of year, the village children would go and pick chestnuts or mushrooms in the forest by the river."
Jimmy could clearly hear my voice shaking uncomfortably, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"sometimes...."
Jimmy flinched and couldn't continue speaking when the devil, sitting across the metal table from him, reached out his hand. Winston casually tossed his cigar into the ashtray in the middle of the table and gave an order to Jimmy, who was holding his breath in fear.
"Keep going."
"Well, sometimes... ."
As soon as I opened my mouth, my voice trembled again. The hand I hid under the table was shaking just as much. I regretted ordering Grace to get her hands on that demon who had been born of madness. After experiencing Leon Winston firsthand for the past three years, I knew that it was impossible for anyone from the beginning.
All of the leaders had long since died from cruel bullying and torture, like ants in front of a child who did not know good and evil. The two who were supposed to be killed last were still breathing.
Dave was guaranteed his life until Nancy was caught, but Jimmy was not. He was living a life that was not really alive, not knowing when he would be executed at the devil's whim or by a change in the situation.
"... I also went fishing."
I was afraid that I would be executed for saying something wrong today, but on the other hand, I even thought that I would rather die quickly. I was going to die anyway.
If that was the case, he would have killed that demon too, but he didn't have the strength to do so. His only consolation was that the author had not yet found Grace.
"Grace too?"
As expected. Winston put the ash-turned cigar back in his mouth and asked persistently about Grace. When Jimmy nodded, Winston furrowed his brow as if he was displeased and asked again.
"Did Grace touch the worm-like bait too?"
Jimmy nodded, not knowing why he was being asked.
"Isn't that something a man should do?"
"Well, back then we were just childhood friends... ."
"You don't know how to be considerate of a lady."
Grace was too young to be called a lady at that time.
"Keep going."
Winston would call him to the interrogation room late at night and have a private conversation with him. He was always drunk when he did. His actions and speech were perfectly normal, but the smell of alcohol was so strong that it was impossible not to notice.
He asked me about this and that, but it wasn't about the newspaper. All he did was listen to my trivial recollections about Grace and then he left.
"that...."
Jimmy hesitated for a moment as he almost mentioned the name Grace. He almost forgot the threat he had made to cut out her tongue if she ever mentioned the name again.
"... That guy had little patience, so he would often let go of the fish he had caught."
The devil laughed softly.
"That woman has a bit of a short temper."
Then he asked, spitting out a long puff of white smoke.
"Since when have you been burning wood?"
It was a difficult question to answer because it was so absurd.
"Well... . We were so young. The village children, all of them, learned it naturally while playing in the forest."
Winston groaned briefly, as if he was not satisfied with the answer, and then extinguished his cigar in the ashtray. Then he stared at the gray wall with a faint smile on his face, as if remembering something, and then suddenly opened his mouth.
"It's the first time in my life that I've seen a girl climb a tree."
Then, he stared at the gray wall as if recalling old memories and smiled.
"Then he fell into my arms."
"... ... ."
"It was really pretty, even now."
He had an expression on his face like a devil walking through heaven. Winston suddenly asked him, who was quietly rubbing his arm, goosebumps rising from his discomfort.
"Do you know that our history is old?"
History. Jimmy blinked blankly at the feeling of discomfort once again and replied.
"I know we met when we were young."
"Tell me what Grace said."
"We hung out together that day... ."
"under...."
The moment Winston burst into laughter, Jimmy shut his mouth and held his breath. He could clearly see the sinews rising from his jaw as the devil clenched his teeth. The veins and tendons also bulged from his withered hand, which held the cigar and pressed it between his eyebrows.
"I played."
"... ... ."
"You say playing house is playing, but who says kissing is playing?"
"I, I just relayed what that guy said."
Leon knew, too. That woman had once said those words to me.
"I said that because I was scared that my parents would get in trouble if they found out I was arguing with you."
How can you say you played that?
"I really liked you too."
And how could she really like me? How deep is the 'like' that Grace is talking about? The woman may have even pulled out the tip of her toe that was dipping into the shallow water, but Leon alone sank deeper and deeper into the deep sea.
He shut his eyes tightly, then opened them. Then he took a long drag of cigar smoke, rolled it around in his mouth, and bit into it.
"Did you know that I was Grace's first kiss partner?"
"... I didn't know... Huh."
Leon finally smiled when he saw a look of confusion in the eyes that looked particularly haggard, with only skin and bones left on the face.